Firefly
by ElphieOnEarth
Summary: AU. 54 years ago, Queen Ozma went forward in time to leave her only child in the hands of her most trusted friend, Mia Dillamond. Now, Firefly Dillamond knows the truth of her past, and must find the Gaurdians of Oz's Gems and claim her rightful place as the Princess Ozma. The Wizard is not going too let it happen willingly, but she's not about to give up. Let the chaos begin!
1. Prolouge

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Well, except for Firefly. She's mine. Enjoy! **

A soft knock on the door. A slow creak to reveal an old Nanny-Goat on the other side. The Goat smiled softly.

"It's good to see you again, Ozma." she said.

The human carrying a small bundle smiled at the sight of her old friend. "Good to see you too, Mia."

"The spell worked, I see. You look as young as ever." Mia said.

"Yes, and let's be thankful." Ozma looked down at her daughter. "No one will suspect she's here."

"Please, come in and have a seat. We have a lot to catch up on. I haven't seen you in forty years!" Mia said.

Queen Ozma nodded, hurrying inside. She took a seat quickly. "How are your children, Mia? Is Liir doing well?"

"Fine. Actually, he's a professor now. At Shiz!" Mia said.

"A professor?" said Ozma. "I never thought the little squirt would be a professor."

"He seems to like it. Loves his subject, that's for sure. History." she explained.

"I see. What about Averic? And Tia?" Ozma asked.

"Averic is a fairly successful businessman in Munchkin Rock. Tia is a homemaker. With quintuplets! Honestly, I don't know how she manages." she remarked. "How's Princess Ozma?"

"Silent the entire trip. She's a little angel." Ozma said.

Silence for a moment.

"You'll take care of her, won't you, Mia?" Ozma said.

"Of course, Ozma. She's one of my own, as far as I'm concerned. I'll give her both our love. The only thing is..." Mia stopped.

"Is what, Mia?"

"I can't tell her about you. That's going to be hard, Ozma. And I can't pretend it won't be." Mia said.

Ozma put a reassuring hand on her friend's hoof. "You will be able to one day, Mia. And when you are, she'll be ready. Until then..." She pulled out a hastily written note, with only the words _Take care of my little girl _on it. "You found her on the doorstep with this little note."

Mia nodded. "What's going to happen to you, now that I have her?"

"I will go back into the time I left and face the invasion with the knowledge that my little girl is safe with my best friend." Ozma said. "Remember, don't tell her any of this until she discovers the Guardian of the Quadling Pearl. Not a word about me, or the past, or...her name."

Mia nodded. "I know."

"Remember, the fate of Oz rests in your hooves until the truth is revealed. Then it's up to her." Ozma then bowed down and whispered into her daughter's ear. "I love you. Be safe with Mia." With that, she handed her daughter to her friend. Wordlessly, Ozma got up and left, not looking back.

Mia watched her old friend leave the house. The Princess was sleeping peacefully in her arms.

"What to call you, little one?" she asked. "I can't call you Ozma, that's a little too obvious."

The Princess softly woke up, facing the window, oblivious of what had just occurred. The Quadling night sky was filled with fireflies, and she giggled at the site.

"Oh, you like fireflies, do you?" Mia asked. Then an idea came up. "Firefly..." She looked down at the giggling infant. "Your name is Firefly, little one. Firefly Lumor Dillamond. You seem to like them enough. Besides, you, like the firefly, are light extinguished for but a moment, then lit up, filling the night sky with your wonders once more." Mia giggled at herself. "I should have taken up poetry." With that, she carried the baby girl to a nursery she had secretly prepared for the Princess.

Forty years ago on that very day, Princess Ozma disappeared. No one knew that she had actually gone forty years into the future. And although many tried to find her, no one did.

Because no one, not even herself, took a second look at a girl named Firefly.


	2. Chapter 1: Birthday Surprise

**Disclaimer: Nope. Nothing changed.**

_Fourteen years later... _

"Firefly Lumor Dillamond!"

_Oh, great. What did I do this time? _Firefly thought. The fourteen year old human had gotten into her fair share of trouble, and didn't always keep track of it. "Yeah, mom?"

"Come here this instant, little missy. You're in big trouble." Mom said.

_Oh, joy. _Firefly thought as she ran downstairs. _Maybe she'll go easy on me, though. I mean, it _is _my birthday. _Technically, it wasn't her real birthday, as far as she knew. But, fourteen years ago today, she had been left on the doorstep with nothing but a small note that said _Take care of my little girl_. She needed something to calculate how old she was, so her mom decided that it should be the day she was left here. Firefly knew nothing of her birth mother, and didn't really mind. She had _her _mother, and was brought into a family that had three siblings and ten nieces and nephews already. So, she was content with her life. Except when her mom was mad, like she was right now.

"What did I do, mom?" Firefly asked when she got into the room. "Something bad? Did I forget..."

"Surprise!" Almost all of her friends and family jumped out from the various furniture in the room. "Happy birthday, Firefly!"

Firefly jumped. She was not expecting that. "A surprise party? For me?"

"Of course." Mom said, running over to her. "You didn't think we'd let your fourteenth birthday go unnoticed, did you?"

"Well, no, but..." Firefly started.

"Butts are for sitting on, Firefly." Tia said. "Besides, Liir, Averic, and I have only one human sister, so I think your birthdays have the right to be a little extra special."

Firefly groaned. Tia could be a such second mother sometimes. "Speaking of Liir, where is he? I don't see him anywhere."

"What? I'm not good enough for you?" Averic teased.

Firefly smiled, but in her mind, she had to admit Averic was halfway right. Liir and Averic were both her brothers, of course, and she loved them both very much, but, well... Liir was the closest thing to a father she had. She loved him as a brother, but he acted like a father with her sometimes. (Usually when she got in trouble.) Averic was just fine, but he was too...too... Averic to really be a father to her.

"Dad's at work." her niece, Lia, spoke up.

"Ugh, again?" Firefly tried not to look too disappointed. Liir was a college professor, so he almost _always _missed her late autumn birthday. The only time he didn't was when she was ten, because he "wasn't about to miss the double digits." She sighed. It looked like that birthday was a one time only deal. "Well, if he's not here, he's not here. Now, come on! Is this a party or what!"

So the party started. It went by in a whirlwind of laughter and games. Looking back, the only thing that she really remembered from that party was the cake and what happened afterwards.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Firefly..." she heard them sing as a giant birthday cake was brought down the hall. Her mouth dropped. That cake had to have two months worth of sugar rations in it. Plus one month for the frosting. Of course, only Animals had to ration their supplies, one of the many restrictions that made Firefly and her mother choose to flee to the safety of the Animal Community they were at. Their "house" was actually a hole in the ground, quite literally. "Happy birthday to you."

Firefly smiled. There was even a few candles at the top. "Make a wish." she heard her mother whisper.

_I wish the Animal Restrictions would be repealed. _she thought. _And that Liir could be here._ She blew out the candles, knowing that both were unlikely to happen anytime soon. Still, they were fun to wish for. The crowd cheered.

"So, what did you wish for?" her best friend, Christy, asked.

"Christy, you know as well as I do that if you say a wish, it won't come true." said Firefly.

This was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Now, who could that be?" her mother said, her eyes twinkling a little.

"I'll get it." Firefly said. "Worse case senario, I have a new brother to babysit."

"Hey!" A small shout of protest came from Averic.

Firefly rushed to the door. She opened it quickly, expecting a new arrival to the Community. Instead, she felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around her and toss her into the air. She landed bridal style into his arms.

"Liir?" she asked, awestruck.

"Oh, come on, how many other college professors have a fourteen year old sister?" he asked.

"Liir!" she said excitedly, wrapping her arms around him in a big old bear hug.

"Didn't you know I was coming? I sent mother a letter months ago to let her know I was coming to visit for a few weeks..." he started.

"Must have slipped my mind." Mom said in false innocence. Firefly was slightly annoyed that her mother hadn't told her sooner, but was way too happy to care.

Liir took sight of the singed candles and frowned. "Did I miss your wish, Firefly?"

"It just came true." _Well, half of it, anyway. _she thought.

"I'm glad." Liir said.

"Ahem." Tina, Firefly's five-year old little grand-niece, said. "What about cake?"

Firefly laughed. "Yes, lets not forget about cake."

It was the last time in a long time she would worry about such small details.

* * *

A week later, Firefly was relaxing on the couch when something caught her eye. She looked again. Yes, her eyes weren't tricking her. Slowly, ever so slowly, she crept up, as if expecting the object to disappear. When it didn't, she picked it up.

It was a pearl. A small, shiny, and smooth little pearl that was absolutely perfect in every way. She smiled when she held it, because felt good to hold it.

"Hey, Liir! Check this out!" Firefly said.

Liir walked in, and, upon seeing the pearl, looked confused. "Where did that come from?"

"I don't know. It just...came." she said. "Wanna hold it? It feels really good to hold it."

"I don't see how..." Liir started, but Firefly put it in his hoof. He smiled as soon as she did. "Wow."

"Feels good, huh?" she asked.

"It's like...every good feeling I've ever had, rolled into one, coming at me at the same time." he admitted. "But why?"

"I don't know, but I felt the same way." Firefly said. "Hey, mom! Check this out! It's a pearl that makes you feel good."

Mother ran in, looking quite worried. "WHAT?!"

"Here, let me show you..." Firefly took the pearl out of her brothers hoof and tried to place it into her mothers, but instead of sitting there, as it did with her and Liir, it hovered and flew straight too Liir.

"Huh?" said Liir. "Here, let me try..."

"No." said their mother. "It won't work." She took a deep breath and sighed. "I always knew this day was coming. But it's so soon..."

"What do you mean, Mom?" Firefly asked.

"Well...that's the Quadling Pearl, Firefly. It will only let its Guardian and an Ozma hold it." their mother said.

Firefly sighed. She knew all about Oz's Gems and who would hold them. "But it let Liir and me hold it."

"That's because he's the Guardian, Princess." Mother said.

"But what about..." Firefly started. Then it hit her. If Liir was the Guardian, that made her...

Ozma.

Princess Ozma.

**Cliffhanger? YES! Please review. But no flames please!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Truth is Revealed

**Disclaimer: Come on! What could have happened?! **

"I'm Ozma? The freakin _Princess _Ozma?!" Firefly said. Then she laughed. "Oh, I get it. Ha, ha. You really had me going there, mom."

"I'm not kidding."her mother said.

"Firefly, I think she's being serious." Liir whispered to her. "She's gone crazy. Humor her."

"I can hear you, Liir," their mother said before smacking him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"And I'm not crazy. I've known about this for fifty-four years.""she said.

"Sure, mom. Except I'm not that old." Firefly reminded her. "I'm fourteen, remember? My birthday was last week. You held a surprise party."

"Princess, why don't you believe me?" her mother asked.

"Hmmm, let me think," Firefly said, sarcastically. "Well, I have frizzy red hair. I believe all of the Ozmas' hair were a distinct _black_. Furthermore, I have freckles, which is another thing no Ozma has. And hazel eyes. I'm fairly certain the Ozmas' eyes were either brown or green. Oh, and no Gale Force officers have ever been after me. I think they would be swamping our door by orders of the Wizard if I was Princess Ozma. So, either your just kidding, or you've lost your marbles. Either way, I'm not an Ozma."

Her mother nodded and grinned mischievously. "Wait here," she instructed her daughter. She went into the other room.

"So, since mom's gone absolutely nuts, can I move in with you?" Firefly asked Liir.

"I'll have to check to see if it's against Shiz policy, but if not, your more than welcome too," Liir said. "You can take the guest room."

"Thanks. I'll need it." Firefly said.

"Ah-ha!" The shout of discovery from the other room. "I've found it!"

"Seriously, keep the guest room open for me, will ya?" Firefly said.

"You laugh," their mother said, walking in with a mirror, "But I can prove I'm right. Read the inscription on the back."

Firefly looked at the inscription on the back. "Well, what?" she asked.

"Read it out loud." Their mother said.

"Um, why?" she asked.

"You'll see."

Firefly shrugged. "Ok." She started:

"_Show me the truth of my past now_

_I was young, a mere child_

_And forgot with age_

_Show me how my future is altered _

_By this,_

_My forgotten past."_

"Read it again, until something happens." her mother instructed.  
Firefly sighed, but did so anyway.

"_Show me the truth of my past now_

_I was young, a mere child_

_And forgot with age_

_Show me how my future is altered _

_By this,_

_My forgotten past._

_Show me the truth of my past now_

_I was young, a mere child_

_And forgot with age_

_Show me how my future is altered _

_By this,_

_My forgotten past. _

_Show me the truth of my past now_

_I was young, a mere child_

_And forgot with age_

_Show me how my future is altered _

_By this,_

_My forgotten past._

_Show me the truth of my past now_

_I was young, a mere child_

_And forgot with age_

_Show me how my future is altered _

_By this,..."_

She didn't finish. She was overcome with a vision.

* * *

_A soft knock on the door. A slow creak to reveal an old Nanny-Goat on the other side. The Goat smiled softly._

"_It's good to see you again, Ozma." she said._

_The human carrying a small bundle smiled at the sight of her old friend. "Good to see you too, Mia."_

"_The spell worked, I see. You look as young as ever." Mia said._

"_Yes, and let's be thankful." Ozma looked down at her daughter. "No one will suspect she's here."_

"_Please, come in and have a seat. We have a lot to catch up on. I haven't seen you in forty years!" Mia said._

* * *

"_You'll take care of her, won't you, Mia?" Ozma said._

"_Of course, Ozma. She's one of my own, as far as I'm concerned. I'll give her both our love. The only thing is..." Mia stopped._

"_Is what, Mia?"_

"_I can't tell her about you. That's gonna be hard, Ozma. And I can't pretend it won't be." Mia said._

_Ozma put a reassuring hand on her friend's hoof. "You will be able to one day, Mia. And when you are, she'll be ready. Until then..." She pulled out a hastily written note, with only the words _Take care of my little girl_ on it. "You found her on the doorstep with this little note."_

_Mia nodded. "What's going to happen to you, now that I have her?"_

"_I will go back into the time I left and face the invasion with the knowledge that my little girl is safe with my best friend." Ozma said. "Remember, don't tell her any of this until she discovers the Guardian of the Quadling Pearl. Not a word about me, or the past, or...her name."_

* * *

"_I love you. Be safe with Mia."_

* * *

"_What to call you, little one?" she asked. "I can't call you Ozma, that's a little too obvious."_

_The Princess softly woke up, facing the window, oblivious of what had just occurred. The Quadling night sky was filled with fireflies, and she giggled at the site._

"_Oh, you like fireflies, do you?" Mia asked. Then an idea came up. "Firefly..." She looked down at the giggling infant. "Your name is Firefly, little one. Firefly Lumor Dillamond..."_

**Yet another cliffhanger. Keep reading, and please R&R!**


	4. Chapter 3: The Adventure Begins

**Disclaimer: Nope. Nada. No way do I own this. Oh, and from now on, I will be switching between Firefly/Ozma's 3rd person POV and Liir's 3rd person POV interchangeably. Here's your cue to know which POV is which...**

**:0- Liir's 3rd person POV **

**:)- Firefly/Ozma's 3rd person POV **

**:0 :)- Liir to Firefly**

**:) :0- Firefly to Liir **

**I hope these are okay. Now, on to the story!**

:0

Liir could do nothing but watch as his sister, his _own sister_, began to decipher the odd language on the back of the mirror. He could do nothing but watch as a strange look wiped across her face, and he could do nothing but watch as she passed out on the ground. Her hair, face, and even her _eyes _began to change and he could do nothing but watch. In short, his sister was in trouble, and he could do nothing but watch.

"Mother..." he finally said after a moment. "What's happening?"

"She's learning the truth." his mother said.

"What truth?" he asked. "What's going on? Why is this happening? And why didn't you tell her anything about it?"

"Liir, you know how I had a rather close friendship with Queen Ozma, don't you?" his mother asked.

"I'm well aware."

"She was Firefly's birth mother." she said. "When the invasions started, she needed a plan to get her daughter out of danger, and she asked me to watch her."

"Mother," Liir said, trying to reason with her, "The invasions were _fifty-four _years ago, and so is Princess Ozma. Firefly is only fourteen."

"True, and true." his mother said. "You see, Queen Ozma used the Grimmerie to go forty years into the future so that the invaders would not find her daughter. She also used it to disguise her daughter so no one would recognize her."

"And this has to do with age..."

"Well, when someone goes forward in time...using magic, of course...they continue to age the way they would have if they'd never left their time." his motherexplained. "So, if Princess Ozma came to this time when she was a newborn fourteen years ago..."

"Then that would make her age as though she was born in that time," Liir whispered. "Making her fourteen years old."

"Spot on." she said. "And she will continue to do so as she gets older."

"But what about the spell to disguise her? It seems to be wearing off." he added with a quick look at Firefly.

"The spell is made to wear off when one learns the truth about themselves, which has just happened." his mother said.

"Ah." Due to the evidence, he had to agree with his mother, difficult as it was.

"You know what you must do now, don't you?" his mother asked. "You and her must find the other Guardians and take down the Wizard."

"What?" he said.

:0 :)

_Firefly woke up slowly, looking around. She didn't know where she was. All she saw was darkness. _

"_Where am I?" she asked out loud._

"_Your in the realm of the gems." she heard five voices say. _

"_What?"_

_Slowly, there was a little pearl and a little ruby that came up. "Do not be alarmed, Princess Ozma," a little voice said. (It seemed to be coming from the pearl.) "You are merely in our realm. I am the Quadling Pearl."_

"_And I'm the Munchkinland Ruby." said the ruby._

_Firefly was really weirded out. "You can talk?" she finally said._

"_Yes, and no. What you hear is our thoughts." the ruby said._

"_You have brains!" she gasped._

"_We don't have brains, but we thrive on emotion. It is a consciousness, if you will, rather than a grey blob, that controls us." the pearl explained. _

"_So, it's things like happiness that keeps you thinking, rather than a brain." she said._

"_That's one way to describe it, I suppose." said the pearl._

"_So, why am I here?" she asked._

"_Oz is not right." the ruby said. "It is ruled by a tyrant who oppresses its people."_

"_You mean the Wizard." Firefly said._

"_Yes, the Wizard." the ruby said. "The evil he enforces on our beloved land, our people, angers us. He has restricted them, neglected them, bound them, abused them, silenced them-"_

"_But we are gems, not people. We can not fight him." the pearl said. "But you can."_

_"What?"_

_"You shall not be alone, Princess Ozma." the ruby said, addressing her biggest concern before it left her mouth. "We shall help you. We shall lead you through your quest."_

"_And our guardians shall assist you." said the pearl. "You already know my gaurdian."_

"_You mean Liir..."_

:) :0

Liir looked down at his sister patiently. His mother had explained to him that she would seem unconscious for a while. In reality, she was learning about her past and her future. He sighed inwardly, looking over at the sky. Not long after his mother explained what they needed to do, there had been a Gale Force alert throughout the village. Mother told him they had to flee. Evidently, she had been planning this moment for a long time. She had packed two backpacks with enough food to last each person for about six months, a pup tent for each of them, blankets, books, lanterns, matches...Come to think of it, there wasn't much she _hadn't _packed. She had even built a tunnel in the dwelling. As he carried Firefly...Ozma now, he realized, but he couldn't think of her being of anyone but Firefly...to safety, he heard the Gale Force arrest mother, and he overheard something about arresting the rest of the village. When he stepped out of the tunnel, he saw smoke curling into the sky. He refused to think of where that smoke came from.

_Poor Firefly, _he thought. _She's going to be mad and upset when she gets up._ As much of a shock as it was to him to learn that Firefly was actually Princess Ozma, he couldn't imagine the shock it would be for her. And then there was the country to worry about. Even if everything went well, she would still end up ruling Oz at the tender age of fourteen. And yet...

The Gale Force. The village. And the same thing was happening all over Oz. If anyone could fix the country, it had to be Firefly. True, anyone could run Oz better than the Wizard. But Firefly could do the one thing that seemed impossible right now. She could run it right.

"Ohhh, my head..." she muttered. Then she looked up. "Liir?" she asked softly.

"The one and only." he said. Then he took a deep breath. "Firefly, about the whole Ozma thing..."

"I know." she said. "The gems showed me."

_The gems? _Then he remembered that his mother had mentioned something about the gems of Oz talking to an Ozma. "Oh, gems." he said. "What did they say?"

"They said that I was Princess Ozma." she said, standing up. "And that Oz will never be right until I'm on the throne, with the guardian's assisting me."

"I'll attest to that." he said, standing up as well.

"We need to find the others. Starting with the Munchkinland Ruby, and going on from there." she said.

Liir nodded. "I follow your lead," he said, bowing suddenly. "Princess Ozma."

"You can still call me Firefly." she quickly informed him. "Oh, and one more thing..."


End file.
